SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 10/17/2025 9:33 AM
My Worship Time Focus: PT-2 “God’s Hand of Compassion”
Bible Reading and Meditation Reference: Jonah 2:10
Message of the verses: “Then Yahweh spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah up onto the dry land” (2:10).
I will continue looking at this verse by quoting from John MacArthur’s commentary and then have something to say afterwards.
“At the same time, this act of vomiting brought about Jonah’s rescue. It can therefore be viewed as the only time in Scripture where vomiting had a positive outcome. The fish vomited Jonah up not only as a reminder of the prophet’s repugnant rebellion but also as the means of his deliverance. The Lord chose the strangest method to recover this unwilling missionary as an answer to his prayer (cf. Jonah 2:4, 9). In the regurgitation of Jonah up from the belly of the fish, the hand of God’s discipline was met by the hand of His compassion.
“The fish vomited Jonah onto dry land, fully delivering the prophet from the perilous sea. In this act, God displayed that He is ‘the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land,’ just as Jonah had declared to the sailors (1:9). By bringing both the sailors (1:13, 15-17) and Jonah back to the shore, the Lord demonstrated His prerogative to save both Gentiles and Jews (see discussion on 2:9). To that end, as most commentators rightly observe, Jonah was likely spewed out on the shores of Israel, probably near Joppa. This was the dry land the sailors were rowing to reach (1:13) and presumably the dry land to which the Lord directed the fish. God returned Jonah to the very place where he began, giving him another opportunity to carry out his prophetic commission and head to Nineveh.
“Though the prophet’s voyage went nowhere, with Jonah ending where he began, God had a specific purpose for Jonah’s roundtrip journey. Through the storm, the sea, and the stomach of the fish, the Lord broke Jonah’s pride and showed him the greatness of salvation. The Lord’s aim was not merely to transport Jonah physically but more importantly to transform him spiritually. Before Jonah declared the message of salvation to the Ninevites, God first intended for His prophet to experience the wonder of that reality himself. Having imparted these vital lessons to Jonah, faithful Yahweh sent His prophet back to where he had begun. This time, Jonah was ready to obey God by going to Nineveh to fulfill the commission.”
I have to say that I have never read or heard of Jonah going back to Israel before, as one of the things that I have read about was that because Jonah was in the stomach of the great fish that he would have had stomach acid on him which would have caused him to be noticed by the Ninevites, and I was wondering why this was not brought up in MacArthur’s commentary, but now to see that it was probably true that Jonah was vomited out in Israel that story probably was not true.
Spiritual meaning For my Life today: Trusting the Lord even though I don’t always know where He is leading me is something that I am learning to do better as I grow in age and in the Lord.
My Steps of Faith for Today: Trust the Lord to led my wife to get the treatment for her cancer is something that I pray will happen for her, and I pray that He will lead her to where He wants her to go.
10/17/2025 10:05 AM
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